It was an Emil Andrae breakout game in Thursday’s overtime win against the St. Louis Blues. The Flyers’ defenseman played the best game of his NHL career.
Not only was it one of Andrae’s better performances as a puck mover, but he also played a sound defensive game. Andrae put his body on the line late in game, blocking what very well could have been the Blues’ game-winning goal.
The Swedish blueliner picked up the primary assist on Tyson Foerster’s game-tying goal. He also got a mid-game promotion to the second pair to the left of Jamie Drysdale.
Since being recalled, Andrae has looked better and better with each game. Now, it’s looking like that promotion might just stick.
Size has been a concern for the Flyers with a blueline group of Cam York, Drysdale, and Andrae. Now, two of those players are getting a look together. Head coach Rick Tocchet was asked if he would give them a further look. The coach said, “It’s something you’ve got to try.”
When talking about his concern with the two smaller players on the same defensive pair, Tocchet pointed towards one of his former players, Quinn Hughes. “[Quinn Hughes] is not the biggest guy. He won the Norris with his brain, his quickness, his puck ability, and his breakups. They can defend that way. If they’re going against bigger guys, and it’s cycle corners and stuff to squash plays might be a little difficult, but I think with your brain and your quickness and your patience with a puck, you can work around that.”
No, Tocchet is not saying that Emil Andrae is Quinn Hughes. But if they do some of the things defensively that Hughes can do, the pair could work.
Jamie Drysdale talked about playing with Andrae after Friday’s practice in Voorhees. “Emil likes to hold on to the puck, likes to make plays, and so you’re ready for that, communication on the breakouts, so yeah, I think it’s a smooth transition, and we should be good.”
Drysdale and Andrae are similar players in that they both like to take risks. That can be tricky for a pair, leading to defensive breakdowns, and rushes the other way. Drysdale said it’s all about reads, saying, “I think what [I] would do in that position. You know, he has the puck, if I was like, oh, he has time, he’s probably gonna try and make a play, then, you can back off and cover.“
The Flyers’ defenseman also says that when playing with Andrae, the most important thing is not to change their game. “The biggest thing is, if we’re playing together, it’s just staying aggressive, staying assertive,” Drysdale said. “We play our best when we’re confident. The second we lose that, that’s when stuff starts to go downhill. So we’ll both play our games and build off each other.“
Andrae and Drysdale are set to get their first full game together in a top-four Saturday vs. the New Jersey Devils.
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